Rush Limbaugh denied smoking risks in 2015: 'Smokers aren't killing anybody'

[C Moon]

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/02/05/rush-limbaugh-denied-smoking-risks-in-2015-smokers-arent-killing-anybody/

The conservative radio host has long extolled the glamour and societal benefits of smoking, while downplaying its dangers.

Just five years ago, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh went on a pro-tobacco rant on his show, during which he downplayed the risks of smoking, said it’s “a myth” that secondhand smoke causes illness or death and argued that smokers aren’t at any greater risk than people who “eat carrots.”

“Smokers aren’t killing anybody,” the conservative host declared in an April 2015 segment of the “Rush Limbaugh Show,” then argued that tobacco users should be thanked because their purchases generate tax dollars that fund children’s health care programs.

“I’m just saying there ought to be a little appreciation shown for them, instead of having them hated and reviled,” Limbaugh said. “I would like a medal for smoking cigars, is what I’m saying.”

[oasis]

1. ...

[RDANGELO]

2. He is also an expert on global warming.

[newsboy]

17. Poor Rush

As Gump would say:
GODDDD..... has a climate change waiting for rush

really the damage he has done / fox news / hanity ......
i wish no ill on no one but i wish the damage would stop

[at140]

3. My B-i-L died of lung cancer, never smoked!

But in his law office in Mumbai, everyone smoked in the office.
My wife has lung cancer, and never smoked in her entire life.
But both her parents, old sister smoked in their home in Chicago.
So Rush Limbaugh does not know what he is talking about secondhand smoke.

[Drahthaardogs]

6. He's a dead man walking

So fuck him

[at140]

7. Yap, he won't be around much longer...

He looked quite sick during the SOTU.
My wife is going through chemo treatment, and those have debilitating effects on the body,
but without chemo cancer will spread faster.

[DesertRat]

15. Warm wishes to you and your wife

[at140]

25. She is doing OK considering..diagnosed stage-4 cancer 23 months ago

Thank you so much for taking time to post a caring note.
She gets chemo & immune therapy infusions every 3 weeks.
Her cancer specialist doctor says she is responding very well to therapy.
Thank goodness for medicare-advantage insurance, since bills run $30k/month for treatment.

She is still able to do many things she enjoys.
Actually we are signed up for a 5 day cruise near end of this month.
Enjoy your day!

[DesertRat]

34. What a blessing that she's responding very well to therapy

And yes, thank goodness for Medicare advantage insurance. I hope you two enjoy the cruise! I'd love to hear about it when you get back.

[Bluethroughu]

30. He's choking on Karma

Don't wish ill will, just pointing out the obvious.

[C Moon]

11. Damn, that's horrible!

[mr_lebowski]

12. That is what's known as anecdotal evidence ... just sayin ...

People get lung cancer w/o smoking OR ever having been around smokers as well.

And what do you suppose the air quality in general is like ... in Mumbai?

You have to have large scale epidemiological studies to prove assertions like this.

Sorry about your wife, I wish her the best ...

[irisblue]

23. Some stats from Cancer. org

source--https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/why-lung-cancer-strikes-nonsmokers.html
date--October 31, 2019

snip--"As many as 20% of people who die from lung cancer in the United States every year have never smoked or used any other form of tobacco. In fact, if lung cancer in non-smokers had its own separate category, it would rank among the top 10 fatal cancers in the United States."

snip--" Radon gas. The leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers is exposure to radon gas, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It accounts for about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year. About 2,900 of these deaths happen among people who never smoked. Radon occurs naturally outdoors in harmless amounts, but sometimes becomes concentrated in homes built on soil with natural uranium deposits. Studies have found that the risk of lung cancer is higher in people who have lived for many years in a radon-contaminated house. Because radon gas can’t be seen or smelled, the only way to know whether it’s a problem in your home is to test for it. A Citizen’s Guide to Radon explains how to test your home for radon easily and inexpensively, as well as what to do if your levels are too high.



Secondhand smoke. Each year, about 7,000 adults die of lung cancer as a result of breathing secondhand smoke. Laws that ban smoking in public places have helped to reduce this danger. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN) - the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society - is working to expand and strengthen these laws to further protect both people who smoke and those who don't from the dangers of secondhand smoke."


snip--" Air pollution. Researchers have known for a long time that both indoor and outdoor air pollution can contribute to lung cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies outdoor air pollution as a carcinogen. However, it's believed the risk of lung cancer associated with air pollution is lower in the US than in many other countries because of policies that have helped to lower the levels of exposure."


lots more at article


Mr L, this is a pretty fair source

[Mosby]

29. You know what else can emit radon?

Granite countertops.

[irisblue]

31. But pretty! -sarcasm

And almost the height of many a woman's ovaries as well.

My Radiation Biology professor talked about less well known radiation emitters, science is not well learned/studied

[Mosby]

33. I watched a show that covered the topic

This wealthy couple did their entire kitchen in exotic granite from Africa. The hubby used to eat breakfast every day in the same spot on the island in the kitchen. There was a big chunk of uranium in the granite right where he ate. He's dead now.

[SlogginThroughIt]

24. JFC why do people on this site do this?

Pretty sure they knew it was anecdotal evidence.

Oh hey yer sharing a story about a couple people you know? Let me just be a jerk and tell you why your story doesn't mean anything.

Good grief.

[C Moon]

32. Thank you! I frigging hate people that talk like that.

[TwilightZone]

4. They must have been sponsoring him.

Because *no one on earth* believes that anymore.

[C Moon]

9. That's what I was thinking, as well.

[njhoneybadger]

26. It is a part of his shtick, all business is good and gov. is bad because it restricts business

Who do you think tRump's main advisor is

[Coventina]

5. Karma. n/t

[C Moon]

10. Yep.

[robbob]

8. Well, he got his medal...

Might as well say it’s for smoking. That makes as much sense as anything else...

[Joinfortmill]

13. He killed himself

[DesertRat]

14. "Trust me on this"

[Hermit-The-Prog]

19. I'm gonna sue you ...

I'll probably get some kind of brain fungus because of that picture you posted.

On the other hand, the monitor survived.

[DesertRat]

35. Sorry I didn't post a graphic content warning!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. Back in the 1950s and early 1960s,

medical doctors had smoking rates well above that of the general population. Even though cigarettes had acquired the nickname "coffin nails" by the 1940s, there was a lot of denial that smoking was at all bad.

Then the Surgeon General's report in 1964 clearly linking smoking with death and illness came out. Very quickly doctors stopped smoking so much.

I have a lot of contempt for those who continue to deny the ill effects of smoking, and equal contempt for anyone who took up smoking after the surgeon general's report. I have no sympathy for smokers who get cancer or heart disease and try to claim, "Oh, dear lord, I had NO idea!" It is hardly breaking news that smoking is bad for you.

As for Rush Limbaugh, I sincerely hope he has a protracted and painful death. It's not what I wish upon the average smoker, but in his case he's been a purveyor of lies, has come down on various groups in an egregious way that merits contempt. So yeah, he needs to suffer. And suffer a lot.

I just hope his doctors give minimal pain medication.

[llmart]

22. +1

[pstokely]

36. More Doctors Smoked Camels Than Any Other Cigarette

[no_hypocrisy]

20. Rush has said stuff on air to keep listeners listening.

It's irrelevant whether he believed what he said.

[OnDoutside]

21. Has he given any update on that now ?

[pamdb]

27. lumberbutt

Karma's a bitch, baby.